


Steel, Moon, and Fire

by rivensilk



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Rise of Kyoshi
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, One Shot, rangi is an assassin but still harps on about her honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26297830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rivensilk/pseuds/rivensilk
Summary: Kyoshi swallowed thickly as she looked up to meet the assassin's gaze. A few strands of hair had escaped from the top-knot to drift down over their forehead, and Kyoshi could see conflict raging in their dark bronze eyes.Kyoshi almost went cross-eyed trying to look at the sword that was pointed at her throat, but she gave up to stare at their face as the assassin leaned in closer.“I’ll kill you,” they said, their voice low and raspy, slightly muffled by their mask and edged with desperation.Kyoshi mustered a small smile. “That’s fine.”
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 160





	Steel, Moon, and Fire

**Author's Note:**

> many thanks to tumblr user jenkoree's lovely mononoke hime rendition of rangshi because it inspired the vibes i wanted for this one-shot! check it out here: https://jenkoree.tumblr.com/post/626792048971956224/that-scene-from-princess-mononoke-but-make-it

Hujiang glowed in the night. The buildup of dirt and grime had melted away into the darkness that stole through the _daofei_ town at sundown, and flickering, trembling torchlight danced like a swarm of glowflies in the light breeze. 

Group morale was at its record low after the meeting with Mok. Lek cradled his blood-crusted hand to his chest as he stared blankly at the ground, and neither Kirima nor Wong had spoken as they walked back to their inn.

“Can we agree to leave this forsaken town first thing in the morning?” Kyoshi asked with an edge of desperation in her voice. 

“Yes. I’m going to drink myself stupid until then,” Wong grumbled. He began to stomp away then added, “If I run into any of you, I’m going to pretend I don’t know you.” 

Kyoshi nodded, but Wong had already disappeared into the long, stretching shadows beyond what the nearest lantern could illuminate. She bit back a sigh and turned to Lek.

“Thank you,” Kyoshi said in a soft voice, guilt twisting inside her stomach. “For standing up for me.” 

Lek blinked as his eyes finally refocused. “Why wouldn’t I?” The cut on his palm seemed to have stopped bleeding and his sleeve was caked with dried blood, but Lek looked like he still hadn’t fully processed what Wai had done to him. 

“I have to take care of his hand,” Kirima said, grimacing. “I’m not the best healer, so it may take a while.” 

“That’s fine, take your time. I need to get some air to clear my head.” Kyoshi felt her shoulders slump as she squinted down the slope of the town. She could spot the edge of the lake below, catching the firelight with a glimmer every time it rippled up against the shore. 

Kyoshi had started to head down toward the water when she heard Kirima call out behind her, “Stay safe.” Kyoshi only threw up a hand in reply to let Kirima know that she had heard. She didn’t trust herself to speak without a waver in her voice.

A quiet storm of guilt, regret, and fear roiled in Kyoshi’s heart as she stumbled deeper into the darkness away from Hujiang. Had she done the right thing by running from Jianzhu? Doing _the right thing_ was a moral puzzle that Kyoshi had no idea where or how to start solving.

Running around with a group of _daofei_ was objectively wrong, wasn’t it? But the Flying Opera Company had been nothing but genuine in their efforts to help Kyoshi after learning that she was the daughter of Jesa and Hark. 

And Kyoshi knew that usurping Yun as the Avatar was wrong and cruel after everything they’d grown up with together, but Kyoshi had as much free choice in that as she had in her own birth—literally none. 

A long sigh loosened from deep within her as Kyoshi reached the bottom of the hill. She would gladly give up her Avatarhood if that would give Kyoshi her old life back. Kelsang and Yun . . . Would they be disappointed in her if they saw exactly where she stood? Would they be ashamed? 

Kyoshi’s eyes had started to adjust to the darkness the farther she got from the town. Looking out into the inky black water of the shallow lake almost made Kyoshi forget what was behind her. For a second, she could pretend that she was back in Yokoya Port, staring out into the sea. 

The full moon hung low and heavy just above the horizon and cast a great, golden stripe down the center of the lake. A smile tugged at the corner of Kyoshi’s lips as she wondered if the moon spirit ever felt like it was bearing a mantle too large for its shoulders, dragging it down as it fought to climb up in the sky as dictated by destiny. 

And try as she might, Kyoshi couldn’t forget about the _daofei_ town behind her. She couldn’t turn away from her fate. Come daytime, Kyoshi would be forced to face the reality of the choices she’d made, and even now, the distant lit fires were reflected at her feet like countless pairs of eyes staring back at her, judging and silent.

Each torch, lamp, and lantern was a dim speck of yellow light on the water, rippling with each lap of the waves. They shifted, some blinking out while others appeared, but the steadfast golden glow of the moon never changed. 

As well as two, steady golden spots in the lake. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be more like a dark bronze . . . then Kyoshi caught the gleam of silver steel breaking the surface of the water, and a chilling rush of ice-cold fear forced her to stumble back. 

Kyoshi’s foot caught in the mud and she lurched backward as the blade whistled by almost close enough to nick her throat. A figure lunged out of the lake toward Kyoshi, black-clad and dripping wet.

They took a wide slash toward Kyoshi’s chest, faster than her eyes could follow, and the edge of the weapon raked across the chainmail hidden inside of Kyoshi’s green kimono. The sheer strength behind the blow was enough to knock Kyoshi to the ground and send the air wheezing out of her lungs. 

With Kyoshi lying prone, the figure loomed above her, ankles deep in the water and silhouetted by the full moon. They wore a hood pulled low to their brows and a mask across the bottom half of their face. Kyoshi could barely make out their cold, bronze eyes in the darkness, the only patch of skin visible on their entire body.

The small stones of the rocky shore pressed into her palms as Kyoshi tried to scramble away. _Pebbles_ , Kyoshi realized. _What is it that Lek does?_

The assassin raised an arm and leveled their weapon at Kyoshi’s chest. The blade was about as long as their forearm, single-edged, and thinner than any sword Kyoshi had seen before. 

Before they got the chance to stab her in the stomach, Kyoshi’s hand shot out and she flicked her wrist. The rocks beneath her back rumbled and stirred, then a stone the size of a melon rocketed out toward the assassin.

Kyoshi caught their eyes widening in surprise as hers did, too. She’d only intended to distract them with a pebble so Kyoshi could get away, not take their head off completely. 

Kyoshi had also forgotten to hold back. The stone hit the assassin in what looked to be the chin or mouth area, and she heard a quiet grunt of pain as they took several steps back, reeling from the blow. Their hood slipped off their head to reveal ink-black hair tied up into a traditional Fire Nation top-knot. 

She briefly wondered if the impact was hard enough to knock them out, but before Kyoshi could get to her feet, the water around the assassin froze. They were stuck knee-deep, and their blade was also lodged upright in solid ice. 

The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Kyoshi’s quick breaths came out in puffs of water vapor visible in the moonlight. That couldn’t have been Kirima. She shouldn’t be done with Lek’s healing yet.

Kyoshi’s mind was unwilling but her body, driven by instinct, turned her head to look farther down the shore. _Yangchen help me_ , Kyoshi thought as her heart dropped to her stomach. _Not another assassin._

The distant figure raised both arms, the outline of their splayed hands clear in the moonlight, and Kyoshi gasped with horror and dismay. A Waterbender under the full moon was not something Kyoshi was equipped to handle. 

Dozens of ice spears rose from the lake, hovering still and silent. Kyoshi held her breath, then her gaze was drawn sideways to the assassin who was still stuck in the ice.

Kyoshi couldn’t let other people die because of her. Yes, both assassins were trying to kill her, but it was her fault for . . . for being the Avatar and not anyone else's.

She moved before she could convince herself to stop. Kyoshi scrambled over the loose rocks to stand on top of the ice just out of arm’s reach of the assassin. 

From the corner of her eye, she could see them reach for their sword, but it was still stuck in the ice. Kyoshi couldn’t afford to worry about that when both of their lives were in peril from the ice spikes currently hurtling their way.

 _What is it that Kirima says?_ Kyoshi was distracted by the sound of hissing coming from beside her. _Something about positive, negative jing?_

Kyoshi’s experience with Waterbending was purely from watching Kirima, so the only thing she could think to do was to drop into a low stance and throw both hands out in a stopping motion. 

She meant to halt the ice spears mid-air, but Kyoshi’s force exceeded her expectations—every single spear shattered into a cloud of snow. 

The Waterbender dropped their arms and took several faltering steps backward before turning completely to run away. Kyoshi wanted to point after them and shout “Ha! I’m a Waterbender under the full moon, too!” until she realized that perhaps the assassin hadn’t been running from _her_.

Kyoshi’s feet slipped on the ice as she spun around, immediately met by the butt of the assassin’s sword slamming into her sternum. She flew back with flailing arms and landed heavily onto the shore. 

Kyoshi didn’t get the chance to catch her breath after getting it knocked out of her because the assassin strode forward and planted their foot on her chest. As they once again leveled the sword toward her, Kyoshi realized how they’d escaped from the ice.

The blade was glowing white-hot, and the heat radiating from it made Kyoshi sweat underneath her thick, armored kimono. _That’s what the hissing was!_ Kyoshi’s eyes widened. The assassin had heated their sword, which caused the ice to instantly vaporize wherever it touched the metal.

Kyoshi glanced at the surface of the lake, and it confirmed her suspicion: two large, cleaving strokes had been carved into the ice for the assassin to free their legs. 

She swallowed thickly as she looked up to meet their gaze. A few strands of hair had escaped from the top-knot to drift down over their forehead, and Kyoshi could see conflict raging in their dark bronze eyes. 

Kyoshi almost went cross-eyed trying to look at the sword that was pointed at her throat, but she gave up to stare at their face as the assassin leaned in closer. 

“I’ll kill you,” they said, their voice low and raspy, slightly muffled by their mask and edged with desperation. 

Kyoshi mustered a small smile. “That’s fine.” 

The assassin growled audibly and grabbed Kyoshi by the collar. She was now even closer to the glowing blade and tried to pull away, but the assassin jostled her roughly. “How can you say that!” Their voice was so distraught that Kyoshi stopped struggling. 

“You- How can you-” The assassin broke off with another growl that sounded like grit teeth and frustration, and they tossed their sword over their shoulder. It landed in the lake, hissing faintly as the water around it began to boil while the metal cooled. 

With both hands now gripping firmly on the front of Kyoshi’s kimono, the assassin hefted her to her feet like she weighed no more than a sack of rice. The feat of strength was even more surprising when Kyoshi realized that she stood almost a full head taller. 

“ _You_ ”—the assassin pressed a finger into Kyoshi’s chest, and she could already feel the heat burning through her clothes—“are the _Avatar_.” 

Acute panic crashed into Kyoshi, and more fear swept through her than what she’d felt encountering two assassins. “No, I’m-”

“Don’t lie to me,” the assassin snapped as they pulled their mask down. “I saw you Earthbending and Waterbending.”

Kyoshi was stunned into silence when the assassin revealed herself to be a girl no older than Kyoshi. She was distractingly pretty with fierce bronze eyes, fine brows knit into a scowl, and attractive lips pursed in a frown. Her lip was split and swollen from where Kyoshi had hit her in the face with a rock, and she was tempted to reach out to wipe the blood away.

“You’re the Avatar,” she repeated with another firm poke at Kyoshi’s bruised sternum. The dull pain returned Kyoshi to her senses. 

“Who are you?” Kyoshi shot back as she crossed her arms and stood straighter to stare down at the assassin. 

The assassin glared up with a disbelieving look then rolled her eyes. “Even the other guy recognized me, rocks-for-brains.” 

Turning, the assassin knelt to pick up her sword from the water. The blade was no longer white with heat but still glowed dimly with a threatening red. Fear flickered through Kyoshi until the assassin gestured aggressively with an open palm like the sword was somehow an answer to Kyoshi’s question.

Kyoshi shook her head. “I don’t follow,” she admitted.

The assassin groaned and grumbled, “You know, I just sacrificed my honor to save the honor of my clan, but you don’t even know who I am.” She shot Kyoshi a furious look, completely livid. “My own honor!” she snarled.

“I’m sorry,” was all Kyoshi could think to say.

The assassin stomped up and shook her sword right under Kyoshi’s nose, droplets of water flinging onto her face. “The Sei’naka clan? The White Steel Sei’nakas?”

“O-oh, um, yes?” Kyoshi lied. 

The Sei’naka assassin narrowed her eyes like she didn’t believe Kyoshi, but she pulled back. “Now that you’ve seen my face, I should kill you.” She pinned Kyoshi with a glare that silenced her. “But killing the Avatar would stain my clan’s name for lifetimes. The honor of one member isn’t worth the legacy of hundreds.” 

“But wouldn’t assassinating the Avatar be, I don’t know, really good bragging rights?” The words slipped from Kyoshi before she could stop them.

“That’s completely sacrilegious! It’s almost like you want to die,” the assassin said with another eye roll, but the expressionless look on Kyoshi’s face caused her to sigh. “Look, Avatar-”

“Kyoshi,” she interrupted.

“Avatar Kyoshi-”

“Just Kyoshi,” she interrupted again, earning her a deep scowl from the assassin.

“Okay, _Just_ _Kyoshi_ , I don’t know why you have assassins out to kill you and I don’t care, but I can’t let you die. Not under my watch.” 

A relieved smile split across Kyoshi’s face. “So you’ll be joining me?” Kyoshi asked, beaming. 

“First lesson: don’t trust strangers. You’re too naive,” the assassin said with a disapproving frown, “and someone needs to teach you how to fight. Whoever you’re traveling with is doing a terrible job.”

“How do I know that you won’t kill my friends and me while we’re sleeping?” Kyoshi gave the assassin a pointed look as she raised an eyebrow.

“Look at that. Better already,” the assassin said dryly with a hint of a smile in her eyes. “You don’t.” She began to stalk away, heading up the hill toward Hujiang. 

“Hang on!” Kyoshi hurried after her. “What’s your name?” 

“Rangi.” 

The unexpected candidness of that answer made Kyoshi fumble her next question. “W-who sent you?”

Rangi stopped in her tracks and turned her head toward Kyoshi. Her dark bronze eyes flickered with the firelight, unreadable. “You already know,” she said softly as she held Kyoshi’s gaze. 

_Jianzhu_. Kyoshi unconsciously clenched her fists. “How many of you are there?” She glanced behind her shoulder to look at the debris of ice and snow along the lake’s shore. “Assassins, I mean,” Kyoshi added. 

“I don’t know.” Rangi’s brows pulled together. “It’s a deep insult to my clan to send others for the same target, so I don’t feel too bad that I gave up on this mission. It was a slight on our honor from the start.”

“Right, your honor,” Kyoshi muttered, but when she noticed that Rangi was starting to narrow her eyes, she hurried on with another question. “Do you think you could teach me Firebending?”

Rangi exhaled in a soft huff that sent her hair fluttering around her face. “It’s a bit improper for the Avatar to learn Firebending from an assassin,” she said after a moment. 

“So, what, are you coming along as my new bodyguard?” Kyoshi asked, incredulous. 

“Yes,” Rangi answered simply. She still held her sword in a loose grip at her side, the blade an even dimmer shade of red now. Its sheath was tied to a belt that wrapped around Rangi’s waist. Kyoshi noticed that Rangi was somehow completely dry, whereas she had damp legs and shoes, and wet mud was stuck all over her back. 

“Also, my companions don’t know that I’m, um . . . they don’t know what I am.” Kyoshi winced, and it was Rangi’s turn to look surprised. “Please don’t tell them.”

“You’re seriously _just Kyoshi_?” Rangi looked like she was on the verge of screaming at Kyoshi again or even hacking into her with her sword, but she pressed her palm to her forehead instead. “That explains a lot, you oaf.” 

Kyoshi only smiled and followed beside her as Rangi started to walk up the hill once more. 

“You or one of your little _daofei_ friends better be able to heal my face,” Rangi said as she brushed her slender fingers over her split lip with a sharp inhale of pain.

“I’m sorry,” Kyoshi lamented. “I wasn’t trying to Earthbend anything big. One of my friends is a healer. You’re so pretty anyway, but I’m sure she can-” Kyoshi realized what she’d accidentally let slip and immediately shut up, reddening with embarrassment. 

An awkward silence stretched between them as they continued up the steep hill until Rangi muttered, “Stupid.” Kyoshi hazarded a sideways glance, fearing Rangi’s wrath.

The quick look revealed that the assassin had also blushed, an attractive pink dusting across her cheeks and ears. It was as visible as day as they stepped into the warm torchlight of Hujiang.

**Author's Note:**

> [the icarly "spencer with an ostrich" meme but make it rangshi]
> 
> *kyoshi meets up with the flying opera company with a drink in one hand and a white steel sei'naka assassin in the other*
> 
> kirima: whatcha got there?
> 
> kyoshi: a smoothie
> 
> \---
> 
> ahh my first-ever one-shot! i am open to feedback, and thank you for reading! if you catch a typo or something, let me know and i'll give you an internet cookie. i'm @rivensilk on twitter and @rivensil (no k) on tumblr


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